Practically all the ancient civilizations with their millenarian therapies knew and used the products of the bees as a valuable resource in its medicine. The histories of the medicine of the Chinese, Tibetan, Egyptian and Greco-Roman civilizations are also rich, containing in their old writings, hundreds of recipes based mainly on honey, propolis, bee larvae and sometimes the own bees, to cure or to prevent illnesses. From the Hebraic Civilization, the Holly Bible, in some texts, exalts and ennobles the nutritious and medical properties of the honey. Some other texts refer to the propolis as “The balm of Gileade ", that was used to cure wounds, reaching high prices in the market of that time. In Japan, the use of the propolis took a great pushing in 1985, after the accomplishment of XXX International Congress of APIMONDIA in the city of Nagoya. Nowadays, Japan is the principal consumer of Brazilian propolis.
Propolis is a resinous substance, which bees collect from flowers and floral buttons, buds, barks of trees, especially from elms, and is used as a type of cement in the construction of the beehive. With the Propolis, the bees close off small openings and cracks in the hive, welding honeycombs, as well as sealing off the hive from cold winds, and preventing the entrance of its natural enemies (fungus and bacteria). Propolis is thus the raw material used in the construction of bee's community.
Some studies have been made for the determination of the physiologic activity, such as anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antiviral.
The therapeutic properties of propolis have been motivating isolation researches, identification of chemical compounds, and the possible relationship of these with its biological activity. The presence of several phenolic compounds explains, partly, the great variety of the biological and therapeutic properties told in the literature, mainly in the last 3 decades.
Anti-fungal: Some authors demonstrated that among other activities, propolis has antimicotic action due to cynamic acid and a flavonoid named crisina. There are reports in the literature that a 50% propolis ointment cured with no return, 97 of 110 patients with Kerion on the scalp (ringworm). In addition, other authors verified that the ethanolic extract of propolis has demonstrated an inhibitory activity on 17 dermatotitis, and also showed that propolis formulation with propylene glycol was same or superior to the one of the antifungae medications against the mushrooms M. kennels, T. rubrum, T. mentagrophytes and Scopulariopsis.
Comparison of propolis skin cream to silver sulfadiazine:
a naturopathic alternative to antibiotics in treatment of minor burns.
Gregory SR,
Piccolo N,
Piccolo MT,
Piccolo MS,
Heggers JP.
School of Medicine University of Texas, Medical Branch, Galveston TX, USA.
A comparative multi-centre study of the efficacy of
propolis, acyclovir and placebo in the treatment of genital herpes (HSV).
Vynograd N,
Vynograd I,
Sosnowski Z.
Institute of Epidemiology, Lvov State Medical University, Ukraine.
Ninety men and women with recurrent genital HSV type 2 participated in a
randomized, single-blind, masked investigator, controlled multi-centre study
comparing the efficacy of ointment of Canadian propolis containing natural
flavonoids with ointments of acyclovir and placebo (vehicle) on healing ability
and capacity to remedy symptoms. Thirty individuals were randomized to each
group. Treatment was intended to start in the blister phase. All participants
had HSV type 2 isolated, confirmed by serum immunoglobulin levels. The
participants were examined on the 3rd, 7th and 10th days of treatment by
gynaecologists, dermatovenerologists or urologists at seven different medical
centres. Apart from clinical symptoms the number and size of the herpetic
lesions were noted. At each examination the lesions were classified into four
stages: vesicular, ulcerated, crusted and healed. The study ointments were
applied to affected areas four times daily. In women with vaginal or cervical
lesions a tampon with the appropriate ointment was inserted four times daily for
10 days. Endpoint variables were healing time and time until loss of symptoms.
RESULTS: On Day 10, 24 out of 30 individuals in the propolis group had healed.
In the acyclovir group 14 out of 30 and in the placebo group 12 out of 30 had
healed. (p = 0.0015). The healing process appeared to be faster in the propolis
group. In the propolis group 15 individuals had crusted lesions on Day 3
compared to 8 individuals in the acyclovir group and none in the placebo group
(p = 0.0006). On Day 7, 10 participants in the propolis group, 4 in the
acyclovir group and 3 in the placebo group had healed. At the initial
examination all patients had local symptoms and 28% general symptoms. At Day 3,
3 patients in the propolis group had local symptoms compared to 8 and 9 in the
acyclovir and placebo groups respectively. Of the women, 66% had vaginal
superinfections of microbial pathogens at the initial examination. In the
acyclovir and placebo groups no change in the vaginal flora was found following
treatment whereas in the propolis group the incidence of superinfection was
reduced by 55%. (p = 0.10 n.s.). CONCLUSION: An ointment containing flavonoids
appeared to be more effective than both acyclovir and placebo ointments in
healing genital herpetic lesions, and in reducing local symptoms.
PMID: 10782483 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Atopic dermatitis (eczema)
Initial and ongoing treatment for atopic dermatitis includes:
"This product should not be used by people sensitive to propolis. "